You're Always Running Away
by Ltkcoolnesslover
Summary: Feliciano and Ludwig are two normal teenage boys whose horomones and messed up lives send them on an adventure of a lifetime. After a confusing love confession Feliciano runs away, and Ludwig will do anything to find him. Rating may go up later.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, this is my first story on , so please don't kill me for any errors that I may have made. All characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.**

It was the last hour of the school day and the class was gathered around the gigantic world map that was sprawled across the floor when suddenly... KABOOSH! Feliciano Vargas, a short and energetic young Italian boy with shiny auburn colored hair was now laying haphazardly on the floor across the map.

"Ivan, why'd you do that?" Feliciano wined glaring up at the snickering boy he had been standing in front of. Ivan ignored him and kept on laughing.

"You have a nice trip boy?" he spitted.

"Yes, it was beautiful," Feliciano said sarcastically, "I landed in Germany."

"Shut up Ivan!" a muscily blonde boy with bright blue eyes and a thick German accent snapped as he stooped and extended a hand to Feliciano. Feliciano graciously accepted the hand and used it to help stand himself up.

"Grazie Ludwig!" Feliciano said to the blonde in front of him.

"No problem." Ludwig replied smiling. Ludwig and Feliciano had been best friends ever since kindergarten. They did everything together. Whether it be playing kickball, swinging on the swings, or going down the slide. They were practically inseparable. These days it was no different.

"Ivan." the teacher Ms. Hedervary barked, "Go to the principal's office! That behavior is not appropriate for the classroom!"

"Mat bevor int aproprit for the classroom." Ivan mimicked.

"IVAN!" the teacher roared. Ivan quickly fell silent and trudged out of the room.

"Are you okay Feli?" Ludwig asked using his nickname for his friend.

"Ya, I'm fine." Feliciano replied looking into Ludwig's bright blue eyes. Lately he'd been looking for these bright pools of blue more often. Although he and Ludwig had been friends for a long time he had started of late to experience new feelings that he hadn't had before. He recognized friendship and admiration and was familiar with both. But now there was a new feeling that he couldn't quite put a name to. After many long days and countless hours of thinking there was only one answer that had come to him. The answer was love. Yes, love. He loved Ludwig. He also wanted to tell Ludwig that he loved him, but he was afraid that Ludwig would reject him. Not love him back and be scared to come near him. He did not want to ruin his friendship with Ludwig So for a while now he hadn't even thought about telling him, but now as his feelings were becoming more and more promenade he had actually considered telling his friend. He was slowly building up the courage to do so and he knew that he'd be ready soon. Maybe he'd even tell him today.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig said breaking him away from his thoughts. Ludwig had a look of concern on his face. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit off."

"Don't worry Ludwig. I'm fine, really."

"Feliciano why don't you go down to the health room," Ms. Hedervary chided, "You do seem a bit dizzy." Feliciano sighed but decided not to argue and walked quietly into the hall. They were all empty. Slowly he trudged thought the barren halls kicking up a few stray papers that had been left out there by other students. When he reached the health room he pushed open the door and steeped inside. The office staff glared at him when he entered.

"Um, my teacher sent me down here because I hit my head." Feliciano stuttered. An office lady with short curly brown hair and glasses stood up and lead him into the back where the health room was. Feliciano was told to sit on one of the benches and wait for a minute so the office lady could go and get him some ice. When she returned she handed him the ice and asked,

"How'd you hit your head honey?"

"Someone pushed me." Feliciano replied.

"Huh, there was a boy over here just a little bit ago who had to talk to the principal about pushing someone. Oh, what was his name? Ahhhh... ummmm..."

"Ivan?" Feliciano answered for her.

Yes, Ivan!" exclaimed the lady, "That was his name!"

Hmmm." Feliciano hummed in response. The last thirty minutes of school passed rather uneventfully and soon the bell that signaled the end of the school day began to ring. Feliciano was excused from the health room and was able to go to his locker. While he was in the health room he had been thinking again about telling Ludwig about his feelings. After all, he had been having these feelings for a while now. He finally decided that he would tell Ludwig on the walk home from school today. When he got to his locker he got his binder and a few other schoolbooks before heading down to the C-wing of the building where Ludwig's locker was located. Just as he arrived Ludwig was putting the final things into his backpack and shutting his locker. Ludwig picked up his backpack and spun around to find Feliciano standing right in front of him.

"Whoa, Feliciano! I wasn't expecting you to be there!" Ludwig said startled.

"Sorry," Feliciano said apologetically, "We're still walking home right?"

"Yep!"

"Oh, hey, can I ask you something Ludwig?"

"Ya, sure, but can I tell you something first?"

"Of course."

Feliciano and Ludwig began walking toward the rusting metal doors and pushed them open. They stepped outside onto the pavement and began to walk.

"Okay, so what did you want to say?" Feliciano asked.

"Okay, so guess what?"

"What?"

"There's something I've wanted to tell someone for quite a while now."

"What is it?" Feliciano asked, looking up with a hint of hopefulness in his voice

"I want to know what your opinion is. I was thinking about asking someone out." Feliciano stopped dead in his tracks.

"You what!"

"I was thinking about asking someone out." Ludwig said looking concerned. "What, do you not think that is a good idea?"

"I... uh... um..." Feliciano stuttered. What? Ludwig was thinking about asking someone out? B-but he was just about to ask Ludwig out! No, he couldn't like someone else! He couldn't!

"Feli?" Ludwig questioned looking at Feliciano's shaking form.

"Uhhhhh... um." Feliciano continued. Oh no! Ludwig already liked someone else! What could he do? And suddenly Feliciano snapped. He bolted away from Ludwig covering his face the whole time as not to let anyone see the tears that were streaming down his face. He dashed up to his house and ran straight into the front door.

"Owww!" Feliciano moaned as he shook himself off and opened the door. He ran passed his mom who was cooking something the kitchen. He stumbled up the stairs and slammed the door to his room. Feliciano flopped himself on his bed and just let himself go. He sobbed violently into his pillow before chucking it to the other side of the room. It landed with a harmless thump on the floor as Feliciano wasn't very strong and couldn't throw a pillow hard enough to break anything. Suddenly he heard someone turning the knob on his door and his mother's head slowly poked through the crack of the now open door.

"Feli, what's wrong?" his mother asked seeing Feliciano's tear streaked face and puffy red eyes.

"Its nothing mom." Feliciano mumbled.

"It certainly isn't nothing." Feliciano's mom replied, sitting down on the bed next to Feliciano. "Come on Feli, tell mommy what's wrong."

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" Feliciano wined.

"What's your point sweetie bear?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a little kid! It's annoying!"

"Since when was I talking to you like you were a little kid honey bunches of oats?"

"You're ALWAYS talking that way!" Feliciano raged. "You never treat me like my age! Get away from me!" His mom took a step away from him and gave him a dangerous glare as she walked out of the room. Feliciano buried his face back onto his pillow and continued to cry. He couldn't believe what had happened today! And he was acting like such a girl about it! His whole life, family, friends, love, and everything had just come crashing down upon his head. It was terrible!

"Why? Why did Ludwig have to like someone else?" Feliciano asked himself this question over and over. What made me think that he would ever want to be with someone like me? He probably never even wants to see my hideous face ever again. What can I do? Commit suicide maybe? Run away?

"Run away?" Feliciano said out loud as he lifted his head from the pillow. Maybe that would work. He did have over $450 dollars saved up from doing chores over the summer. But, what would his family say if he ran away and never came back? Well, come to think of it they probably wouldn't care too much. His older brother already hated him because he was jealous that Feliciano had better grades than him. His mom was too preoccupied with her failing job, and his dad... well a dead person can't care too much for you right? After a little more thinking Feliciano came to a decision. He went over to his closet and pulled out his black soccer duffel bag and started cramming random clothing articles into it. On second thought he knew that a kid walking the streets with a gigantic duffel bag is likely to draw attention. Instead he grabbed his camouflage army style backpack that his grandma had got him and carefully started shifting through his cloths. It wasn't likely that anyone would recognize him by his backpack. This was one he never used because he didn't like the army look to it. Next, he was about to pack his favorite, I Heart Italy sweatshirt before again realizing that he'd definitely be noticeable in it as he wore it almost every day. So instead he went over to his drawer and pulled out the most embarrassing piece of clothing he'd ever owned. It was a dark blue sweatshirt with the words, I Heart German Boys, printed on the front. He'd secretly bought it off of about two years ago when his feelings for Ludwig had started. He never had planned to wear it, just have it for something to have, but it looked like it would come in handy after all. After packing all the rest of the essentials, other clothes, toiletries, and a few blankets, he snuck downstairs and into the kitchen. He didn't have to worry about his mom finding him snooping around the kitchen though because he had heard his mom get into the shower about five minutes ago and he knew that his mom loved to take long showers. He didn't have to worry about his brother either because he was spending the night at his friend Antonio's house. Feliciano quietly reached into the cupboard and pulled out three packages of dried 'Jack Links' beef jerky. He also grabbed a bag of Oreos and a few juice pouches. Feliciano resisted the urge to grab a box of pasta to take with him, but he knew he wouldn't be able to cook it and he refused to eat it raw. He then crept back up to his room and stuffed these items into his bag. Lastly he got his money out from the box that he kept under his bed, put it in one of the socks, and placed it gently into the bag. Zipping it up was a struggle though as the backpack was already overflowing with the stuff that Feliciano needed. Finally he had gotten the bag closed and put on longer pants and a longer shirt. He slipped the embarrassing, I Heart German Boys, sweatshirt on over that and looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look half bad in it.

"Ok, now I wait." Feliciano told himself. He would wait until night when his mom was asleep. That's when he would sneak out. He laid back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't have to worry about having to take off any of his cloths to go down to dinner. Usually when his mom was mad at him she didn't make him any dinner. Maybe he could get a little sleep before he left. Feliciano closed his eyes and let himself drift into the world of dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

When Feliciano ran off Ludwig didn't know what to say. Did Feliciano know what he was going to say and just didn't want to hear it? Did Feliciano know that he was just about to tell him that he loved him? He absolutely did not know. Rooted in his spot on the sidewalk Ludwig just blinked a blank expression plastered on his face. Shaking himself out of his stupor Ludwig slowly began trudging his way to his house. When he neared the door he turned the knob, opened it and was immediately hit with a face full of smoke. He also heard the fire alarm going off and screaming coming from the shadowy figure that was standing within the billowing mass.

"Oh, my God!" Ludwig yelled, turning in the direction of the fire extinguisher. He smashed the glass casing with his fist and began spraying into the blackness where the angry light of the flames could be seen. Ludwig continued spraying until the smoke began to clear and a foam covered form stepped out of the slightly charred kitchen.

"LUDWIG! You ruined my pizza pockets!" Gilbert wined. Gilbert was Ludwig's brother. He had white blonde hair and piercing red eyes. Gilbert was also a few years older than Ludwig, but he sure didn't act like it.

"Wha-" Ludwig started to ask, staring dumbfounded at his brother, "Gil, the pizza pockets were already ruined before I decided to save your ass." Ludwig began to rub his temple. He could feel a headache coming on. Gilbert crossed his arms,

"They still could have been good."

"The kitchen sure wouldn't have been good!" Ludwig said staring past Gilbert's shoulder and into the slightly burnt kitchen. He knew he was starting to lose his temper, and when that happened it was not pretty.

"We could have gotten it fixed!"

"It sure would've cost a lot more than a new box of pizza pockets!" Ludwig had finally lost it. He still wasn't in the best mood since Feliciano had run away from him, and he sure wasn't going to take any shit from his brother.

"Awwww, is little Ludi at his time of the month again?" Gilbert teased, putting on his best look of false sympathy. By now Ludwig was positively fuming. Oh yes, his brother was going to pay for this. Trying to ignore his cackling sibling as much as possible Ludwig stormed past Gilbert, up the stairs, and into his room. He tossed his backpack onto the ground causing its contents to spill out onto the ground. Ludwig ignored this for now and flopped himself facedown on his bed. He felt miserable. All he wanted to do was be able to openly love Feliciano, but obviously Feli didn't want anything to do with him. Was he really that undesirable that not even his best friend that he had known all his life didn't want him? He hoped not. Ludwig did not cry. He had always prided himself on being able to hold strong in even the toughest situations. No, he would not let himself cry. Even though he told himself this, his body betrayed him. Large tears began to roll down his cheeks and he silently cried to himself. What a terrible day this had been. Why did Feliciano run away from him? Was it something that he had said? Come to think of it Feliciano had been a bit more edgy around him lately. Well, whatever it was it didn't bode well with him.

"Ughhhhh…" Ludwig groaned. Maybe he should call Feliciano. No, not call Ludwig thought. He really didn't trust his voice right now, so instead he opted for texting Feliciano instead. Ludwig rolled over to his left and snatched his phone from his dresser.

"Hey Feli, Y U run away from me earlier? D:" He typed. Ludwig sent the text and lay back down on the bed.

"Ludwig!" A panicked voice yelled from downstairs. The sickly smell of smoke drifted quickly to Ludwig's nose. Looked like Gilbert was going to need to be saved from the burning pizza pockets… again.


	3. Chapter 3

"_When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that's amore," _Feliciano's phone sang out.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Feliciano shouted. He jolted upright and promptly fell off the edge of the bed. Quickly sitting up Feliciano grabbed the device from his dresser and turned it on. He had a text from Ludwig.

"Hey Feli, Y U run away from me earlier? D:" it read. Feliciano wasn't exactly sure what to say. Truly, he was sort of relieved. At least Ludwig didn't know why he had run away. That at least saved him the embarrassment of the situation. However, Feliciano hadn't even the slightest intention of returning the text.

"If Ludwig likes someone else, then I'll just let him like someone else!" Feliciano blubbered, burying his face into his hands. He needed to do something to get his mind off of his situation with Ludwig.

"Maybe I'll just take a shower," Feliciano mumbled. He silently stood up and trudged his way into the bathroom. After flicking on the lights he reached into the closet for his towel and favorite mint scented shampoo. Feliciano set the shampoo down on the edge of the tub and the towel on the lid of the toilet, then stripped of his clothes and stepped into the tub and turned the water on. It was freezing!

"Oi! That's so cold!" Feliciano squealed jumping out of the tub at fast as he could, "Remind me to never get in the shower before the water warms up." After letting the water warm for a minute or so, Feliciano finally stepped into the shower. The water felt amazing. The water trickled down his shoulders and smooth back washing most of today's stress down with it. Feliciano sighed. The shower may help with getting rid of some of the stress, but definitely not all of it.

"Stupid Ludwig. Liking someone else. Stupid me… for liking him." Feliciano grumbled to himself. He didn't know why people talked to themselves when they were upset, but it sure helped. Grabbing the shampoo he popped open the cap and squeezed some onto the palm of his hand. After massaging it into his hair, he rinsed himself off, and stepped out of the shower. Feliciano grabbed the towel off of the toilet, wrapped it around his waist, and walked back to his bedroom. He then changed back into the clothes he had on previously and glanced at the cock. It was 9:02.

"Alright, it's now or never I guess." Feliciano knelt down to pick up his backpack, checking the bag quickly to make sure all of his items were there, and slung it over his shoulders. He unlocked the window and unrolled the old fire escape ladder. For a brief second he considered taking his phone. He knew from the many survival shows that he watched that it was unwise to go without a phone in case of an emergency. Then again having a phone with him would probably make him a lot easier to track. Better not take it. Feliciano climbed out the window and slid down the ladder until his feet hit solid ground. He tiptoed out to the front of the house and peered down the street. He didn't see any cars coming from either direction. The coast was clear. He decided that he should probably head left or else he'd be heading toward the busier part of town. Stepping onto the road Feliciano started sprinting as fast as his scrawny legs would let him. Nervousness tugged at his mind, but he ignored it and kept on running. The only time he stopped was to stand in front of the second most familiar place he knew. Ludwig's house. Feliciano crept around the house until he was able to see into the window of Ludwig's room. The room was on the second floor, but Feliciano could see that the space inside was pitch black.

"He's probably in bed and sleeping by now," said Feliciano. Nonetheless, Feliciano began scaling the large wooden trellis that was propped up at this end of the house. When he had climbed high enough that he could easily peer inside, he pressed his face to the glass of the window. He could see the shadows of the familiar objects in Ludwig's room, but the light from the streetlamp outside prevented him from seeing anything clearly. Feliciano also noticed the Ludwig sized lump under the covers of the bed and knew from the way that his chest was rising and falling that his friend was asleep. He slowly and silently unlatched the window, slid it open, and stepped into the room. Feliciano could hardly see a thing now that he was enveloped in the inky blackness of the room. He tripped on Ludwig's backpack and came crashing to the floor. Feliciano sat up nervously, hoping that he hadn't woken Ludwig with the noise of his fall. Luckily for him Ludwig was still snoring softly, asleep. Sighing softly Feliciano stood up and walked the rest of the way over to the bed. For a moment Feliciano thought about staying here- not running away and instead just jumping into bed with Ludwig. He had done this before and his friend never really seemed to mind. Instead he opted not to. For a while he simply stared at Ludwig's face. It was peaceful in his sleep and so unlike how stress usually caused his forehead to crinkle during the day. Or how the usually downturned lips tilted slightly upward in the throes of a pleasant dream. Feliciano let a soft smile play on his own lips as he leaned down and gently placed a kiss on Ludwig's mouth. Feliciano quickly pulled back fearing that Ludwig would suddenly wake up. He didn't. Instead Ludwig sighed blissfully and rolled onto his side. Feliciano smiled again and slowly backed away from the bed and out of the room. After he had climbed back down the trellis he began to run again. Ready to start his journey into the unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

_He was floating. The soft sand cradled him as if he was nothing, and the sky was exceptionally clear. Blues, whites, and pinks blending together to create a perfect image, the environment so serene that it seemed as if nothing could ever go wrong here. Sitting up Ludwig looked around only to find himself laying on a long white beach with a few of the suns golden rays peaking up from behind a ridge on the far side of a vast sea. Fog rose up from the water giving the air a mystical feeling. Ludwig watched as the great circle rose from its slumber behind the cliff and took its rightful place as the ruler of the heavens. _

_ "Whoa!" he breathed staring up into the brilliant golden light, and suddenly the light began to fall. Small golden teardrops of liquid sun began falling from the sky, landing with soft 'plinks' all around him. Ludwig hesitantly reached his hand out to touch one of the falling drops._

_ "Owowowowowow!" He hissed, pulling his hand back. Where the drop had hit his palm a small red bump had been raised. _

_ "Owwwwww!" he moaned again rubbing at the burn with his forefinger._

_ "Ludwig! Ludwig!" a far off voice whispered._

_ "Wha- who's there?" Ludwig panicked, turning to face in the direction that the voice had come from. _

_ "Ludwig!" the voice repeated. As more drops fell the size of the sun began to decrease and sky became grey. The wind started to swirl and sand blew up into Ludwig's eyes causing him to squint and cover his face._

_ "I'm not scared of you whoever you are! Come out and fight me!" Ludwig shouted into the swirling mass. Suddenly he sensed a presence behind him. Ludwig gasped, bracing himself for some soft of an impact. The impact never came. Instead a slight pressure was applied to his shoulder. _

_ "Huh?" Ludwig questioned looking up. When the swirling of the sand slowed a little but Ludwig was able to see a silhouette of a human form standing above him. _

_ "Hi Ludwig!" the figure said. Wait, Ludwig thought, I know that voice._

_ "Feliciano?" Ludwig asked. The person above him slowly bent down so that Ludwig could see his face. It was Feliciano! "Feliciano! What the hell were thinking? Don't scare me like that ever again you idiot!"_

_ "Ve~" Feliciano squeaked, tears welling up in his big brown eyes, "Sorry Ludwig." Ludwig hated seeing Feliciano cry. It made him feel so guilty especially when he was the cause of Feliciano's tears. _

_ "Feli." Ludwig said, softening his voice and reaching to cup Feliciano's cheek. "Feliciano don't cry." _

_Pulling him tight against his chest Ludwig wrapped his arms around Feliciano's slight shoulders and cradled him there. They stayed like that for a long time. Just holding each other and enjoying the feeling of security that being with each other brought. Slowly Feliciano lifted his face from Ludwig's chest and looked up at him. His eyes were still slightly red and puffy around the edges but to Ludwig he looked just as beautiful as ever. Gently Ludwig thumbed away his tears and kissed Feliciano for the first time. Even if it was on the cheek. Feliciano eyes widened and he pulled his head back slightly. Fearing he had done something wrong Ludwig's cheeks began to turn a dark pink and he started muttering an apology._

_ "F-feli, s-sorry, uh, I'm sorry.-" But the soft feeling of lips pressed against his own cheek cut him off. Now it was his turn to be surprised. Ludwig quickly jerked his head back and locked eyes with Feliciano. Both of them just stared at each other, breaths coming out slightly faster than normal, until in one glorious moment they simultaneously began moving their heads towards each other until their lips met-._

Ludwig suddenly sat up in bed panting slightly from the heated dream kiss. He could hardly believe that he had kissed Feliciano, even if it was in his dreams. It had felt so real! It spot where Feliciano had kissed his mouth tingled and felt pleasantly warm. The air in the room was also warm and was hinted with the scent of mint.

"Just like what Feliciano smells like right after he has taken a shower." Ludwig thought. Ludwig slowly stood up and went to glance out his window. As he was looking out Ludwig noticed that the window wasn't locked and wasn't shut properly either.

"Huh, I thought I shut this earlier." Ludwig said wondering aloud. Shutting the window, he crawled back into his bed and pulled the blankets back up to his chin. Ludwig turned back onto his side and tried to fall back to sleep. This was not working! Sighing Ludwig sat back up and got out of bed a second time. He quietly snuck down to the kitchen praying to god that it wasn't destroyed too badly, and pored himself a nice big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Since he was tired he accidently pored too much milk into the bowl and it sloshed over the sides of the bowl.

"Ughhhh," he groaned watching the white liquid dribble down the side of the counter and onto the floor. He reached over to the other counter and tore a wad of paper towel from the roll and used it to wipe up the mess on the counter and floor. After cleaning up he went over to the table to eat. While munching on his cereal Ludwig started letting his mind wander. What happened today? Why was my window unlocked? Do I have pants on? Glancing downward quickly at his lap he confirmed that question as a no. How hadn't he noticed that he didn't have any pants on? He must have caught the no pants disease from Feliciano. Feli never seemed to wear pants. Speaking of Feliciano how was he doing? Ludwig hoped Feliciano wasn't still upset from earlier. Everything would be just fine tomorrow, right? Ludwig had no idea how wrong he was. Little did he know, but Feliciano was already well out of the town boundaries and headed to the only place he knew would get him somewhere far away fast. The train station.

Now with a lot satisfied stomach and slightly more settled mind Ludwig headed back up to his room and fell asleep having no idea of the kind of horrors that awaited him the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around 11:00 and Feliciano was pacing the sidewalk outside the local McDonalds. He had thought that he had his runaway all figured out, but it wasn't going as well as he thought it would. Soon after getting out of the area, he had decided that the best way to get far away was by taking a train. The only problem was the nearest train station was nearly twenty miles away, and he didn't have a driver's license yet so he couldn't drive himself there. Feliciano sighed.

"Hey dude wazzup?"

"Wa-" Feliciano squealed falling to his knees and covering his head with his hands. "P-please don't eat me! I'm too young and beautiful to die! I didn't get to try all the pasta in the world yet! Ahhh, just please don't kill m-me! I- I whaaaahhhhh! I KNOW YOUR MOM!"

"Dude, dude just calm down. I uh... Feliciano?" Feliciano peeked up from his spot on the ground and into the face of none other than Alfred Jones. Alfred was Feliciano's locker neighbor at school, and was also in every single one of his classes.

"Alfred!" Feliciano exclaimed rising to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, my shift at Mc-D's just ended. I was gunna start headin' home. What about you? Why are you out here so late? It's like eleven."

"Oh, uh, I just, I was just going over to my Grandparent's house." Feliciano lied.

"At eleven at night?" Alfred asked incredulous.

"Well, you see my mom and my brother are fighting and when that happens I really just want to get out of the house."

"Man dude, I totally know your pain! So you're walking to your grandparent's? Where do they live?"

"Where do they live? Oh, um, just like twenty miles from here." Feliciano mumbled, averting his eyes and rubbing his neck.

"Twenty miles!"

"Yea."

"And you were planning to walk the whole way there in the dark?" Alfred exclaimed.

"Well yea, it's what I always do." Feliciano responded trying to sound convincing.

"Dude, tell you what, I got off of work a bit early today so I'll drive you to your grandparent's place! Just tell me where I need to go!" Alfred offered with his almost constant cheerful disposition.

"Really! You'd do that!" Feliciano felt like cheering. Maybe he wasn't as bad a liar as he had first thought!

"Yea dude! I'm not gunna let my little buddy get like mugged or raped or something just cause he needed to go over to his grandparent's house! That would be like so un-cool man!"

"Yay! Grazie for helping me Alfred! Ve~!"

"No problem! It's the least I could do for you especially after what happened in gym class the other day. Sorry 'bout that."

"Ah! Please don't talk about that Alfred! I don't want to hear anything about it ever again!"

"Oh come on! We didn't know you were naked when we pulled the fire alarm! And it wasn't our fault that you couldn't find your clothes."

"Just, just shut up." Feliciano buried his face in his hands.

"Fine, fine sorry. Jeesh! Come on we should probably get going anyways." Alfred led Feliciano to his little red sports car and opened the door to allow him to step in. Unfortunately for Feliciano he still wasn't able to sit down because the passenger seat was crammed full of sports equipment and old burger wrappers.

"Sorry 'bout that. Alfred apologized, "I'll move it quick." With that Alfred swept his arm across the seat causing all of its contents to overflow the chair and land in a messy heap in-between the driver and passenger seats.

"Uh… thanks." Feliciano coughed, wrinkling his nose at the stench of sweat and B.O. that was being emitted by the sports equipment in the back of the car.

"Again, sorry. I was meanin' to clean in here but I never really got the chance. I know it stinks." Alfred said, sticking the keys into the admission and twisting to start the car. The engine sputtered to life and Alfred twisted in his seat so he could back out of the parking space and into the parking lot. Switching the car from reverse and into drive Alfred sped from the parking lot and out onto the main road.

"Alright dude, which way?"

"Right." Feliciano replied pointing in the direction he wanted to go.

"Right it is then!" Alfred turned the car and then asked, "where now?" as they reached the stoplight.

"Keep going straight until you reach the on ramp for the highway."

"Dude, you were gunna walk on the highway at night?" Alfred looked at him like he was crazy.

"No, I was…" Oh crap! What was he supposed to say now? "I was going to walk the back roads."

"Oh, well that's still a long way to walk dude." Alfred pointed out. Nonetheless Alfred turned onto the highway and switched over to the middle lane.

"Hey Feliciano, you know how to get there this way since you usually take the back roads?"

"Uh, yea." Feliciano really had to rethink what he was doing here. Alfred was driving him to his grandparent's house. His grandparents that lived back in Italy. Alfred was probably expecting to drop him off at someone's actual house. He'd just have to pick a random house and pretend to go inside. Wait, what if Alfred waited to make sure he got inside before he drove off? This wasn't going to work. They drove in silence for a while, Feliciano looking out the window while Alfred made sure they didn't get hit by a truck.

DING! DING! DING!

"Oh butt-nuggets! Hey, Feliciano I think I'm gunna need to stop for gas. I think there's a station like three, four miles from here.

"Okay." Feliciano mumbled. Wait! This could be he chance! He was close enough that he could probably even walk the rest of the way to the train station! He would just tell Alfred that he was going to walk to his grandparent's house since they were so close.

"Hey, Alfred?"

"Yea?"

"When you stop, is it okay if I walk the rest of the way to my grandparent's place. It's only a few miles from there, and I can take a cab if I need to."

"Well, if it's only a few miles can't I just drive you?" Alfred asked suspiciously.

"Uh, well you see, you've already done so much for me already. I don't want you to have to go through anymore trouble." Feliciano rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Certainly Alfred wouldn't buy it, it sounded ridiculous.

"Well… okay. You just be careful buddy. I don't want you gettin' hurt. Huh, you think they got burgers at that gas station cause I'm starving."

Feliciano chuckled slightly.

"For your sake, Alfred, I sure hope they do." He then turned to look back out the window. Cars and trucks were all around them, and the lights from both the vehicles and the approaching city were starting to hurt Feliciano's head. Oh Dio he was tired! Obviously the nap he took earlier wasn't enough. Feliciano rubbed at his tired eyes to clear his blurred vision. Soon Alfred pulled into the parking lot of the gas station. He pulled up to a pump and shut off the car. Then he unlocked the doors and both he and Feliciano clamored out.

"Thanks for the ride Alfred! I really appreciate it."

"No problem! Like I said, it's the least I could do!" Alfred clapped him on the back. "Hey, before you go, you want something to eat? I'll buy it for you."

"No thanks, but thanks for offering!" Feliciano said smiling.

"Alright then, see you later Feliciano!" Alfred waved.

"Later Alfred!" Feliciano then started jogging toward the road and then hid behind a fence. He watched as Alfred filled up his car and then drove out of the parking lot and back the way they had come from. Feliciano waited until he felt that Alfred was far away enough that he would not see him when he started looking for a taxi. Once the cost was clear Feliciano walked toward the curb to flag down a taxi.

"Hey, over here!" Feliciano waved his arm, but the taxi did not stop. He spotted another taxi and tried again to flag it down, but only to come up with the same result. Becoming frustrated, Feliciano dashed over to the other side of the street and spotted yet another taxi. This time he wanted to make sure he got his point across and ran out into the street right in front of the oncoming vehicle. The driver slammed on his breaks and stopped only millimeters from hitting Feliciano. The driver leaned his head out the window of the taxi and started yelling.

"Hey kid, watch where you're going! Your family could have sued me for hittin' you! Just think of all the damage you'd cause me! I'd have to pay for your medical bills and probably the new front end of a taxi! Quit standin' there like a deer caught in headlights! Get lost you little son of a bitch!"

The driver honked his horn, then backed up and sped around Feliciano. And poor Feliciano, he just stood there looking like a kicked puppy. He hadn't expected the driver to yell at him!

"So much for getting a taxi!" Feliciano sighed as he began to walk again. He decided that the best coarse of action was to find somewhere that they had maps so that he could find where the train station was. He searched for a while before coming upon a small guest center and the middle of a plaza. Feliciano walked up to the rack of brochures and searched for one that included a map of the city. Eventually he found one and flipped through it until he came to the page with the map.

"Okay, looks like about two miles from here. Straight up Reniean Road. Now where's Reniean Road?" Feliciano mumbled to himself looking around the plaza. He soon spotted a street sign that had Reniean Road printed on it in neat white letters.

"Alright, just follow the road and you'll be on a train in no time!" Feliciano cheered to himself. As he was walking though, his thoughts began to drift back to home… and Ludwig. A sudden wave of nervousness washed over him when he thought about the imagined reactions of his friends and his family when they discovered he was gone. Even Alfred, whom had aided him in his escape, would eventually come to realize what had happened. Was this really the best idea?

"No turning back now!" Feliciano whispered to himself as he heard the bustling of people and the roaring of the trains as they rocketed down the tracks, "There's no turning back now."


	6. Chapter 6

Oh my goodness! Sorry for the extremely long wait, but between surgery, massive amounts of school work, and a broken arm, it's kind of hard to get to this. Anyway, I'm going to also be starting a new story called "Brighter" so be ready for that too. Ok, on with the story!

Ludwig groaned as the bright morning light streamed through he still un-shut window. He rolled onto his side and pulled the quilt over his head trying to block out the nuisance that was so very rudely trying to awaken him.

"HEY BRUDER!" Suddenly Ludwig's door flew open, and was very nearly knocked off of its hinges as an overly energetic for this time of morning Gilbert barged into his room and jump-tackled him out of bed. So much for trying to get a little extra sleep.

"Ack! Gilbert what the hell?"

"Oh mein Gott bruder, you'll never guess what happened! Oh, it's terrible, it's horrible, it's the worst thing that has ever happened ever! It probably happened during the middle of the night too, so no one even knows it happened!"

Ludwig sighed; he knew that Gilbert tended to over react when stuff happened.

"What is it?"

"All the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is gone! A thief much have broken into our house and taken it!" Gilbert paused glancing sideways, "Urm… why's your window open?"

"I don't know, I woke up last night and it was just open."

"Le-gasp, that must be how the cereal thief must have gotten in! Come now Ludwig, let us investigate!"

"Gil, when I woke up last night I ate the rest of the cereal m'kay? It's not really that big of a deal!" Ludwig rubbed at his eyes. "Anyway, what time is it?"

"Adventure time, now come on, get up!"

Ludwig groaned again and sat up from his position on the floor. He wasn't extremely hungry, so he decided that he would just take a longer shower instead. After a rather uneventful 15 minutes in the shower, changing, and eventually deciding on eating a pop-tart, Ludwig was off to school. He strolled over to the bus stop, but was surprised when he didn't see Feliciano.

'Isn't this where we always met to go to school?' Ludwig wondered, but then thought back to yesterday. 'Perhaps Feliciano is still upset with me and decided to go to school a different way.' Ludwig nodded to himself and, assuring himself of this, continued to wait for the bus. When he got to school he simply got his belongings from his locker and headed out to his first hour class. His first class of the day was math, and this was one of the hours that he shared with Feliciano. Stepping into the room Ludwig looked around to see if he could spot Feliciano. The seat that he usually sat at was empty.

"Huh, maybe he's sick." Even though he told himself this he could feel the anxiety mounting inside him. Trying to ignore the feeling Ludwig took his seat, opened his notebook, and prepared himself for class.

The bell signaling the end of the day had just rung and Ludwig was heading back to his locker to get packed up. All day he had been worrying about Feliciano, and he decided it was best to he call him and see what was going on. After getting all of materials together Ludwig walked out the same rusting doors as yesterday and fished his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Feliciano's number and listen as it rung.

"Hi, this is Feliciano! Uh, I'm not there right now, so if you leave me a message I'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible, okay? Bye, bye!"

"Strange," Ludwig murmured while staring at the device in his hand, "Not in all the many years that I've known him I've never heard his voicemail once." Shaking his head Ludwig decided that he should probably call his house number just in case he hadn't heard his phone ringing. Ludwig dialed the second number and waited a moment, listening to it ring before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Urm, hello. Mrs. Vargas?"

"Oh yes, yes Ludwig dear that's me."

"Uh, yes, um is Feliciano there?"

"No why?"

"Well, he wasn't at school today, so I assumed that he was sick or something."

"…"

"Mrs. Vargas?"

"…"

"Mrs. Vargas!"

"He wasn't here in the house this morning when I woke up, so I thought he had just left early for school." Mrs. Vargas' voice was but a whisper, and it shook when she spoke.

"WHAT," Ludwig shouted into the receiver, "if he's not there then where is he!"

"I'm calling the cops," Mrs. Vargas shouted thorough heaving breaths, "and get over to my house as soon as possible! You need to help me look for him!"

"Right!" Ludwig responded and hung up. He ran as fast as he could over to the Vargas household, and when he arrived, slammed his fist into the door and was immediately pulled into the home by no other than Lovino Vargas.

"Bastard! What did you do to my fratello? Where is he?"

"Lovino, calm down. Ludwig is here to help us look for him." Feliciano's mother was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, looking much paler than anyone was use to seeing her. Everyone in the house jumped as they heard another loud banging on the door. Ludwig opened and led the police officer standing there into the house.

"So one of your kids has gone missing?" The officer asked coolly as if nothing was wrong.

"How the hell can you be so calm at a time like this you fu-" Lovino started to go at the officer, but Ludwig held him back and attempted to quiet him. The officer gave Lovino a hard glare but then turned back to Mrs. Vargas and asked,

"What time approximately did he go missing?"

"Sometime during the night I suppose."

The officer scribbled something down on a notepad that he was carrying and then said,

"All of you, come with me. I'll ask more questions later." He then lead all of them out the door, into his car, and down to the police station.

Nearly six hours later Ludwig was back at his house throwing anything he could get his hands on at random objects. After they had been taking to the police station and being asked a million more questions they had finally started to search for Feliciano, yet came up with nothing. Now Ludwig just couldn't help himself. He was so worried about Feliciano and now he just had to take his frustration out on something, and since he was limited with his options and opted for smashing things. He picked up the toaster and chucked it as hard as he could at the kitchen window. The glass shattered and pooled on the counter and floor. Ludwig sat down amidst the broken shards and squeezed his eyes shut to block the tears that were threatening to spill. Just at that moment the front door opened and Gilbert stepped into the house.

"Oh mein gott! What happened?"

Ludwig stared at his brother murderously and charged past him and up the stairs.

"Ludwig! Ludwig! Bruder what's wrong?"

A loud crash was heard from upstairs. Ludwig didn't respond.


End file.
